Hydro Thunder Hurricane forecast for XBLA

Posted by John as Shmups

Watch out for a downloadable sequel to Midway arcade speedboat racing game! Indie Studio, Vector Unit, is currently developing Hydro Thunder Hurricane for Xbox Live Arcade, which is an eight-player online, four-player split-screen.

When Midway went bankrupt last year, Warner Bros. paid $49 million for most of the Mortal Kombat publisher’s assets. Not included in the deal were some of its studio locations, the TNA wrestling license, and apparently the Hydro Thunder speedboat racing franchise.

Independent studio Vector Unit announced that it was developing Hydro Thunder Hurricane for Xbox Live Arcade, a sequel to the original 1999 arcade hit. The original Hydro Thunder quickly found its way into gamers’ homes, as Midway had a Dreamcast port ready for that system’s September 1999 launch and produced Nintendo 64 and original PlayStation editions the following year.

Hydro Thunder Hurricane will feature new levels, speedboats, water physics, and cooperative as well as competitive multiplayer modes. Following its billing as a full-pledged to the arcade original. The developers are including online races for up to eight players, with split-screen support for four gamers. The game’s races will be set across eight “theme park” worlds with some over-the-top trackside obstacles, including distractions like a giant warhammer-wielding Viking and a sea serpent threatening to sink players’ chances of finishing first.

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